Machine for binding railroad ties and the like wooden parts



Oct. 18, 1960 F. DURRENBERGER 2,956,493

MACHINE FOR BINDING RAILROAD TIES AND THE LIKE WOODEN PARTS Filed April 20, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 18, 1960 F. DURRENBERGER 2,955,493

MACHINE FOR BINDING RAILROAD TIES AND THE LIKE WOODEN PARTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 20, 1956 United States Patent MACHINE FOR BINDING RAILROAD TIES AND THE LIKE WOODEN PARTS Frdric Durrenberger, 29 'Chemin des Aubepines, Saverne, Bas-Rhin, France Filed Apr. 20, 1956, Ser. No. 579,636 Claims priority, application France Apr. 22, 1955 6 Claims. (Cl. 100-8) The present invention relates to a machine for binding railroad ties and the like wooden parts.

Under the action of the crushing loads to which they are subjected, railroad ties have a tendency to crack vertically at their ends and it is a well-known fact that they may be repaired by binding the cracked ends by means of hoops of strap iron and it has also been proposed to prevent the cracking through a preliminary binding of the ties when new.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a machine for binding railroad ties in aneconomical, simple and speedy manner which provides for a perfect positioning under energetic clamping of the binding hoops.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a machine for binding railroad ties and the like wooden parts, wherein the hoop is clamped over the tie by a roller chain surrounding the tie along three longitudinal surfaces thereof with the interposition of the strap iron and said chain projects beyond the fourth surface along each side thereof; the two free ends of the strap iron meet over said fourth surface while the chain engages two guiding rollers or pulleys carried respectively by two arms rocking round axes parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tie. The path followed by the chain is designed in such a manner with reference to the rocking axes of said arms, that when the chain is tensioned by acting on one of its ends, while the other is stationary, or on both ends, the chain causes the strap iron to mate intimately with the outline of the three first above mentioned surfaces and furthermore the force exerted by the chain on said guiding rollers or pulleys pushes the latter towards the fourth surface and urges thus the overlapping ends of the strap iron over the fourth surface.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a machine of the mentioned type, wherein the end of the tie to be bound is first compressed laterally between two plates holding it in position and closing the cracks if any.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a machine of the mentioned type wherein the two free ends of the strap iron are urged and held against each other for welding purposes by means of a block carried at the end of a movable member provided with control means urging the block into its operative position.

The lateral clamping of the tie, the clamping of the chain and the clamping of the block holding fast the joint to be welded may be obtained through any suitable means but it is preferable to resort to pneumatic jacks with a view to produce a speedy clamping under easily controllable and adjustable conditions.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of my improved bind- 7 ing machine, operating pneumatically, the compressed air pipes and their auxiliaries being omitted in the drawing for sake of clarity; and

2,956,498 Patented Oct. 18, 1960 Fig. 2 is a corresponding plan view of the machine. Referring now to the drawings, the frame of the machine includes a horizontal bed 1 carried by two feet or standards 2, 3. Two uprights 4 carried by the bed I carry in their turn a horizontal spindle 5 round which may rock an arm 6 constituted by two parallel flanges The arm 8 comprises also two parallel flanges 8a, 8b carrying revolubly between their ends a roller 10.

To the upright 3a is secured a stop 11 provided with a" vertical plane surface parallel with the spindles 5 and 9 and facing a clamping head 12 which has also a plane surface and is pivotally secured to a spindle 13 carried by the crosshead 14a of the rod 14 of the piston of a pneumatic jack the horizontal cylinder 15 of which rests on the bed 1. The crosshead 14a of the piston rod 14 is guided over a slideway 14b.

The tie 16 to be bound is positioned horizontally and transversely with reference to the bed 1 between the stop 11 and the clamping head 12. A roller chain 17 is secured through one end to the rod 18 of the piston of a vertical jack the cylinder 19 of which is secured to the standard 3 of the frame. This chain 17 passes in succession over a pulley 20 carried by the upright 3a, underneath a roller 21 revolubly carried by the transverse spindle 9 and over the roller 10 carried by the rocking arm 8 and then, after it has formed a loop round the tie 16, it engages the roller 7 carried by the rocking arm 6, and passes underneath the roller 22 revolubly carried by the spindle 5 and into a guiding channel 23 so as to engage finally a tensioning pulley 24 carried by the strap 25 secured to the outer end of the rod of a horizontal jack the cylinder 26 of which rests on the bed 1 and faces away from the cylinder 15; the end of the chain 17 after it has passed over the pulley 24 is secured to a locking member 28 of the bed 1. The spindle carrying the pulley 24 is guided horizontally inside the slideways 27.

A bracket 29 pivotally secured to the upper end of an upright 30 carries the cylinder of a pneumatic jack 31 the piston of which is secured to a downwardly projecting piston rod 32 terminating with a block 33 which may be brought through a pivotal movement of the bracket 29 into a position substantially at equal distances between and in substantial transverse register with the rollers 7 and 10 on the pivoting arms.

The machine thus described operates in the following manner:

A strip of strap iron 34 is cut in accordance with the cross-section of the tie 16 to be bound to such a length that when it is positioned on the tie its free ends overlap slightly as clearly apparent from Fig. 1. The cut is executed at 45 with reference to the length of the strip as shown in Fig. 2 so as to permit of obtaining a weld which is as strong as possible.

After folding the hoop formed by said strap iron 34 and positioning it temporarily over the tie 16, the latter is introduced into the space between the stop 11 and the clamping head 12 which occupies then a retracted position, this being provided by engaging the end of the tie 16 into the loop formed by the chain 17 until the hoop registers with said chain 17 and is surrounded by the latter.

This being done, the tie 16 is subjected to compression between the stop 11 and the clamping head 12 through operation of the jack 15 so as to hold the tie in position and to close the crack shown at 16a if such a crack is present in the tie 16.

I then proceed with the clamping of the chain 17 by acting first on the jack 26, The chain 17 as it is being tensioned urges the hoop 34 onto the lower surface and onto the lateral surfaces of the tie 16. Furthermore, and as readily apparent from inspection of Fig. 1, the stress exerted by the chain 17 stretched over the pulleys 7 and 10 shifts the arms '6 and 8 downwardly, so as to urge the two free ends of the hoop '34 in over-lapping relationship over the upper surface of the tie 16. The clamping is completed through actuation of the jack 19 whereby the chain and consequently the hoop 34 mate exactly with the outline of the tie 16. A pivotal movement of the bracket 29 allows bringing then the block 33 above the overlapping terminal sections of the hoop 34, after which pressure is applied inside the jack cylinder 31. The block 33 urges thus energetically the two ends of the hoop 34 in superposed relationship against the tie 16 and it is now possible to perform the welding, preferably by arc welding.

The reverse operations allow slackening the chain 17, releasing the hoop 34, causing the clamping head 12 to recede and withdrawing the tie 16. The possibility of moving the arms 6 and 8, while it furthers the introduction of the tie 16, ensures a folding of the hoop 34 along the upper ridges of the tie and allows binding ties of different cross-sectional shapes.

Obviously and without widening unduly the scope of my invention, it is possible to bring various modifications to the machine illustrated, within the scope of the accompanying claims. For instance, the pneumatic jacks or a number thereof may be replaced by hydraulic or mechanical jacks or the like suitable clamping means such as levers or eccentric members.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for binding a railroad tie having four longitudinal sides and the like wooden articles by means of welded hoops made of a strip of strap iron engaging three longitudinal sides of said tie and the ends of said strip engaging the fourth longitudinal side in overlapping relationship, the combination of means for holding said tie in position in said machine, a roller chain, a section of said chain surrounding said three first mentioned longitudinal sides of said tie with the interposition of said strip of strap iron, means causing pressing of said section of said chain onto said strip of said strap iron and the latter onto said three longitudinal sides of said tie and of portions of said chain adjacent said section thereof into a position overhanging said fourth longitudinal side of said tie with the interposition of the ends of said strip of strap iron, and arm means mounted in said machine and urging said last mentioned portions of said chain into engagement with the corresponding ends of said strip of strap iron to press the latter against said fourth side of said tie, said means causing pressing of said chain on to said strip of said strap iron comprising means causing stretching of said chain in order to engage the latter with said first mentioned three sides of said tie, two pivots disposed parallel with the longitudinal axis of said tie and carried by said machine and located to either side of said longitudinal axis, an arm rock-ably carried by each of said pivots, a roller carried by each of said arms at the end of the latter facing the other of said arms and engaging the side ofthe chain facing away from said tie, a further roller carried by each of said pivots engaging the side of said chain facing said tie at a point of said chain lying beyond said roller on the corresponding ends of said arms with reference to said tie, whereby the stretching. of said chain bearing on said rollers urges the said chain section into engagement with the corresponding surfaces of said tie and produces a movement of the overhanging parts of said chain into engagement with the corresponding ends of said strip of strap iron to urge the latter into engagement with said tie.

2. The machine, as set forth in claim 1, which includes two plates adapted to hold said tie therebetween.

3. The machine, as set forth in claim 2, which includes a block engaging the overlapping ends of said strip of strap iron to urge said ends together, and means causing movement of said block into operative position.

4. The machine,as set forth in claim 3, which includes a head mounted on said machine and carrying said block pivoted around a stationary vertical axis.

5. The machine, as set forth in claim 4, which includes means urging at least one of said two plates towards each other to compress said tie transversely and to close any cracks in the latter, and said means causing movement of said block into operative position comprising a head carrying said block.

6. The machine, as set forth in claim 5, which includes pneumatic jacks controlling the tensioning of said chain and the relative movement between said tie holding plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 214,256 Logue Apr. 15, 1879 FOREIGN PATENTS 158,611 Australia Sept. 3, 1954 806,760 France Oct. 5, 1936 861,068 Germany Dec. 29, 1952 

